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Let me rephrase: How are you planning on living during the death of today?

I’m sure you’ve heard that we are never promised tomorrow– or even our next breath.

14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.– Jas 4:14

Sure, we may do what we can to prevent a physical death, but have you ever thought about how constantly our days die?

We may try to “make up for it” the next day, what we didn’t do that day, but really… It doesn’t take away the fact that our yesterday is gone & we did not spend our 12,088th day of being alive (for example) to its fullest advantage.

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
– Ep 5:15-16

Maybe, instead of counting our lives in years, we should count them in days. It may help us to cherish our individual days/ moments more.

I’ll never get back that 12,087th day of being alive…

But, the question we have to ask ourselves is: “Did I die well today?” And, “How do I want to spend my 12,088th day of dying?”

(I feel like if we ask, “Did I live well,” it causes us to think moreso that we will be alive for a personal, predetermined amount of time. However, we never know when what day/moment will be our last, whether it be in 8 minutes, 8 months, 8 years or 80 years.)

A certain martial arts class I was in taught me to think: “Today is a good day to die.” But I want to think of it in a different way: Not as some final time/ date when our spirits leave our physical bodies, but as right now– everyday– since our todays are always passing away.

So… Did we die well?

We are either growing or dying (in all areas of life). Once we reach a certain age (in our twenties), we are no longer officially “growing.” The remainder of our lives is trying to hang on to what we currently have and sustaining it as best as possible. But we are still physically dying. (Mental & spiritual growth are different & still possible, however.)

I’m no expert in telling you how the best way to live/die is. I am still learning too. But I do know that it involves doing our best in the current moments we are given, and to always keep the eternal in the forefront of our minds. Appreciate each day… “Don’t Procrastinate”, is so cliche, so here’s a geeky anime quote instead. 😉

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you should do today.” (“Follow Your Dream” song, from “Project A-Ko”)

Store up treasures in Heaven than on Earth.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1. So… did anyone see the end of Dragon Ball Super? It was great! A little cliche, perhaps, but I still liked it. Honestly, anything that has to deal with a ‘tournament’ of some type is like a cop-out story line to me… but what do I know? lol
Though (obviously) DBZ is better, I did enjoy DBS for what it was. I understand now though, that perhaps I shouldn’t have totally given up on my Trunks’ Date story ~because of DBS~ because, besides the canon, people can believe whatever they want to believe anyway. Also, I didn’t like the canon anyway, haha (Trunks & Mai). So, me, stopping, really doesn’t matter when it comes to that. Moreso, it’s just not having enough time to do it (the fancomic), I think. Or more like… I should be doing my original art more, you know?
#whynotboth ? Still wondering that though. I should just do whatever gives me the most energy and inspiration. -_- Who’s to say how my “success” should happen or should look like? I have been trying to make/force my own rules and paths for far too long….

2. I did do some site updates, though, they may not seem so apparent to you guys, haha. Just changed the feed source to the site updates on the right side of the main page, and added a few social media buttons on the top~

& It may be in another local store as well! Very excited! Though, now, I need to make more comics to have more of a variety in those stores, haha… 🙂 #wishmeluck
Thanks for sticking with me! 🌟

4. Sorry that I have been absent from DA for a very long time! I should at least check in to let people know that I’m alive! lol. Thank you for the birthday wishes!! I should do some fanart sometime… (At least one…) 👧🏽✨ Most of my current life updates can be found on my main site though! www.rejenasmiley.com

Gallery updates and such from my Instagram posts! I still have more to do though, lol.

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“What if Judas never killed himself?”

I wonder: would he have repented– let his godly sorrow take over– and attempted to join their other apostles again? Would they have forgiven and accept him back?

If they (eventually) trusted someone like Paul/Saul, Judas would have stood a chance too… Right?

I wonder what kind of an apostle he’d be. He’d be known as the man who actually put Jesus to death on the cross, by betraying him– his friend. He’d be reminded day after day, and even probably be labeled a hypocrite, as to why he’s preaching about Jesus when he was up close and personal with him, and yet, still didn’t follow him. What else would it really take for someone to love Jesus? Unless he completely repented, he would still feel wordly guilt every day, while reaching out…

However… We all actually put Jesus on the cross. Jesus died for the people like Judas too… He didn’t come/die to help the “good people” (of which there are none). He came to save the halpless sinners, just like you and I– the people who can’t help but to sin even when we want to do good.

Satan entered Judas that night. But he also allowed Satan to control him. Things just had to happen that way, or we wouldn’t be who we are today. We would not have stood a chance at heaven on our own. It was still God’s plan. Judas did still have a chance to repent, however. Unfortunately, he chose the wordly sorrow route and hung himself. But I’m sure God would still had compassion on him, even after he did it (if he truly repented). Jesus even called Judas his friend during all of this.

Jesus would have forgiven Judas… If only he would have forgiven himself.

Jesus died for everyone.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

… How we always feel self-righteous, correct and justified in our current behavior? However, when we look back at our past, and get a glimpse at how we thought back then, we can (hopefully) say to some extent, “Wow, what was I thinking back then?” …Even though we felt right and justified at that time, too. But, hopefully, you can see how much you’ve grown and learned from those experiences as well.

Just take it as a possibility that we may also be wrong in our current situations (in how were acting or behaving). In 15 years, what we are doing right now could be a new instance of “What was I thinking?” for our future selves.

Therefore, always be open to learning. Correction and personal evolvement is how we grow.

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Just trying a new look out on the site (mostly just the initial landing page). 🙂 www.rejenasmiley.com

How do you like it? I mean, I hadn’t changed it much since 2011, lol, so I felt like it needed a change. Plus, the old one was inspired by someone else, so I wanted this front page format to be more attuned to what works for me, individually. I felt silly to keep updating here, as well as on the site AND FB, Instragram, etc, sooo…

Hopefully, it works out. I am also hoping that this helps me want to update more. We’ll see, haha! But I DO need to get back into drawing more; and moreso, perhaps more short stories too?~

Some good news! I have some perspective local comic book shops which are interested in selling my work! So there’s that. 😀 We’ll see what happens!

Sooo many inspiring artists I’ve seen, lately. I think I’d just been in an art funk because I didn’t know how to integrate my spiritual life into my comics. I kept feeling like me, doing art, was always for selfish ambition purposes. I am working more on how to find the right balance in my mind, because… I still do want to do comics for a living. Perhaps I’m just afraid of the unknown?… It’s very possible, indeed. Balance is the key to everything.

I’ll leave you with some Ecclesiastes verses:

Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 (NIV)

16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?

18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

Ecclesiastes 3 (NIV)

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,a time to plant and a time to uproot,3 a time to kill and a time to heal,a time to tear down and a time to build,4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,a time to mourn and a time to dance,5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,6 a time to search and a time to give up,a time to keep and a time to throw away,7 a time to tear and a time to mend,a time to be silent and a time to speak,8 a time to love and a time to hate,a time for war and a time for peace.

Like this:

Healing wounds can be so itchy! While it takes the upmost resistance to scratch, doing so is the best method to continue the healing process. It is so easy to accidentally scratch the wounded area too hard and open up the skin to bacteria again.

Thinking about this spiritually: it can be easy to try and interrupt God’s healing of your heart. But no matter the temptation, reach for the spiritual itch/germ ointment– or simply patient endurance– instead of the harsh workings of your hands. You may think scratching the itch is beneficial, but it’s only provides temporarily relief. Sometimes scratching even makes the itch more itchy! So, just leave it alone and let God heal your wounds with your most “hands off” approach.

If you are going to “help” at all, help to prevent any new germs from entering your body!

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“…Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” ~Phil 1:6

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” ~ Phil 2:12-15

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” ~ James 5:14-15

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” ~ James 5:16

Level 1: On Sunday, I hit something on my way home and got a flat tire.

Level 2: When I went to go get it fixed this morn (at the closest dealership), there was extra paperwork that needed to be re-done bc my VIN number was inputted wrong in their system. So, I would have to go to the original dealership where I initially got my car, so that they could fix it. It would take 2 hrs. to fix the paperwork.

Level 3: I was unsure of the cost at this point (also, I needed gas). I didn’t have time to go to the other dealership (which is further away) this morn, so I had to wait until after work… then it rained… and there was traffic…

Level 4: What normally would’ve taken a half an hour took an hour and a half. (Plus, I’m still driving on a doughnut, mind you… praying that I don’t die or get into an accident, lol.)

Then, I had to wait like 3 hours after that in order to get everything done. (I was hungry/falling asleep, yo. lol)

~But life has a way of evening itself out~

Here are the positives of this situation:

1. When I initially hit the ‘something’ in the street, it was as I was turning on my street (like, literally, a few houses down), so I didn’t need a tow truck, and didn’t get stranded. (Woot!) 💁

2. I had some nice father-daughter time with my otousan, who helped me to change it, and even taught me how to change it myself… just in case, for a next time! (I finished changing it halfway through, and it wasn’t so hard as I thought it would be.)

3. I had to get my tire replaced (they couldn’t repair it), but it was at no extra cost to me since I already had tire coverage with my lease (so yay)!

4. All of that extra time waiting was well spent in reflection, and doing creative/fun things. (It’s times like this when I’m glad that I bring my laptop/3DSxl with me, lol.) Also, that hour and a half of driving to the dealership was spent listening to an audiobook, and coming to some realizations (which I will share below). Btw, the audiobook was “Facing your Giants” by Max Lucado.

~What I learned~

I’m starting to look at trials/setbacks as like ‘levels’ (in a video game) to overcome and to beat. And if I’m having difficulty beating the level, then I need to see what God is trying to teach me through them, in order to win and move onto the next challenge. (And maybe there is a calming FMV to watch in between~)

Remember, I’m talking spiritually here. There are some things we can’t control in our earthly lives, in the physical world. But we have (much more, if not all) control over what *we* do and how we learn/think with our minds/spirits.

Anyhow…

~When it is difficult to beat a level~

Maybe we need a ‘power up’ (a boost in energy), or a new weapon to beat the level/boss (some thing or some strategy you haven’t tried yet, or a spiritual weapon/defense you are not using, or didn’t think you had); maybe we just need to gain more experience and ‘level up’ (and learning through repetition… after you keep dying on the same level/part, eventually, you gotta try to figure out what you are doing wrong! lol); or maybe we just need to be humble and read the manual… (the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, y’know.)

There’s always a way to beat/overcome what you are facing…

Do you seem to have troubles controlling your “character” (both types (the physical body and mental/moral character))? Learn the controls… learn how YOU function. There may be a certain set of buttons you didn’t know how to use properly… Or sometimes, it just takes experience ‘playing’ in order to get it (to be second-nature)…

Is the game becoming boring to you? Perhaps it is TOO repetitive, and you just need a change… Perhaps your close friend likes it, and you feel a bit weird for not liking it.

Don’t just give up on video games, altogether! You just have to find which genre/game best suits you! 😉 (This is finding what you are good at, passionate about, and what your likes/dislikes are, in life.) What inspires you? You gotta find it! But sometimes the gift may find you too. 🙂

All in all, try to find the hope in all situations. Even if the physical reality is very slim to change, you can at least change your mental state for the better. Without hope, how is there even a CHANCE to change anything?…

Look for the lesson in how to overcome every setback. And when you DO beat the level/enemy, don’t get too cocky… there is always another challenge ahead! 😉

We WILL have troubles in this world (John 16:23), but luckily, we have access to the best game designer who has overcome the world. 🙂

~If you *think* you are facing an unbeatable level, remember…~

1. As long as you are alive, there is hope in beating it.

2. Look for the lesson– if it is too hard for you, don’t berate yourself for not ‘being good enough’ to overcome the situation. Start small(er), and work/practice from there.

3. Maybe some difficulties aren’t meant to be ‘beaten’ or ‘defeated’. Maybe they are just a ‘thorn’ which God allows us to have (2 Corinthians 12:6-10) in order that we would not become conceited, but lean on Him for our strength.

(1 Cor 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”)

4. If you are able to get into the mind of the game designer, you are more likely to beat the level. (And maybe all of this car stuff happened just so I would be inspired enough to tell you all of this.)

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) (like a Spiritual Super Saiyan!), and become a master at that game, yo! Then, if others have trouble beating it, you will know how to help them… 🙂